Sitting in our homes during the winter season and looking out over the frosty landscapes whilst sitting all snug and warm, it can be hard to think of a time when people didn’t have access to the environmental luxuries that we have as standard today. Windows for example are a relatively new concept in terms of the development of homes and other buildings. Nowadays if we have a problem with the windows in our properties such as the need for Sash cord replacement we can contact a variety of companies who can have our windows in full working order quickly.
However, before double and even single glazed windows were used as standard in properties the windows were simply holes that were left in the walls to allow light and a lot of air into the building. This is great on a warm summer’s day but not so good in the middle of winter. It didn’t take long before people realised that there was a great need for covering these gaping holes in one way or another. This is where the shutter came in. They were easy to use and helped to prevent a certain amount of the air from freely flowing into the house. However, they also blocked out the light, which meant that in the depths of winter the inside of the home was plunged into complete darkness.
The Romans were big advocates for the uses of glass and similarly to many aspects of our modern lives such as central heating the origins of the popular use of glass probably came from the Romans. It was however the Egyptians that first used glass in their jewellery and although the origin of the creation of these beads is not clear, what is known is that these glass beads were a luxury item for many hundreds of years. Long after the Romans in the 17th Century in England glass became affordable and was used as standard in the construct of windows in buildings.
Double glazing is now the standard for installing into properties and was originally developed in 1930 by C D Haven. During this time, it was difficult to find a manufacturer that would take on such an expensive product and it took eleven years before this happened. With a company finally coming on board in 1941. This period of time (being in the middle of the Second World War), stalled many manufacturing projects as all efforts were directed to the war. By 1952 double glazing had finally moved into the window sector.